


Through their friends' eyes

by Melime



Category: Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: Adoribull Holiday Exchange, Drabble Sequence, M/M, POV Outsider
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-09
Updated: 2016-01-09
Packaged: 2018-05-12 20:16:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,212
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5679364
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Melime/pseuds/Melime
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The progression of Dorian and Bull's relationship, through their friends' eyes.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Through their friends' eyes

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Alphabetiful](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Alphabetiful/gifts).
  * Translation into Português brasileiro available: [Através dos olhos de seus amigos](https://archiveofourown.org/works/5679385) by [Melime GreenLeaf (Melime)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Melime/pseuds/Melime%20GreenLeaf)



> First of all, many thanks to my lovely beta [feygrim](http://archiveofourown.org/users/feygrim/pseuds/feygrim), who, as usual, went above and beyond the call of duty, even helping me select the prompt and decide how I would do it.
> 
> The prompt was "Outsider POV on relationship" and I couldn't choose just one character, so I did all their best friends (minus the Inquisitor, because 12 sounds better than 13, even though I prefer 13). Also, some of you may already know this, but I have a weak spot for drabbles, exact word counts, and translations matching the word count of the original.

Felix

Felix checked Dorian’s letter one last time, to make sure he had covered everything in his response. The part about the Qunari agent made him smile, and he wondered if Dorian even noticed he had spent three pages ranting about the advances of a man he claimed not to care about. After a moment’s thought, he added a post scriptum. _I know you too well for you to trick me, my friend. This Iron Bull character must be like a dream come true to you_. He wondered if he would live enough to see Dorian find a chance at happiness.

 

Vivienne

Vivienne knew what he was planning since she first saw him that evening. She noticed the elegant but easily removable robes, the recently trimmed mustache, the scent of his perfume imported from Tevinter, the extra care dedicated to his makeup and hair. The following day, when he tried to hide behind alcohol, sell his actions as impulsive, she just smiled at him. She was gracious enough to allow him to pretend that was anything other than a deliberate choice, and she knew before he made up his mind that he would be returning to The Iron Bull’s quarters that night.

 

Cassandra

Cassandra claimed not to understand. She would question what they could have in common, The Bull’s continued flirtation with her, how The Bull could concile his fear of magic with that relationship, how could they disregard the war happening between their peoples. In private, she would think about how it something coming out of a romance novel, two people meeting under impossible circumstances and finding comfort in each other against all odds. Although she wouldn’t admit it even to herself, she hoped that when this was over they wouldn’t part ways; and that Varric would write that book about them.

 

Varric

Varric couldn’t have come up with a better idea if he had tried. He had never been shy of using his friends as inspiration for his books, and that was simply too good to pass: forbidden love, war, impossible quests. For all of his complaining, Varric wondered what Dorian really thought about being the hero of a romance novel such as this. The Bull had already asked to read it when it was ready, but Dorian claimed it would be a waste of time. However, Varric had his suspicions about who gave him the contact for that Tevinter publishing house.

 

Solas

Solas watched with interest The Bull’s development after being expelled from the Qun and turned into Tal-Vashoth. It was a wonderful thing, to see someone finally become truly free to think, to make decisions. He wondered about what effect Dorian’s influence would have. For all his defects, he was a man who turned his back at everything he ever knew to follow his own path. He was skeptical at first, but time seemed to prove they were good for each other. Despite his disagreements with both, he hoped they could help each other grow, and wished them only the best.

 

Sera

Dorian was Sera’s friend. That wasn’t to say that The Bull wasn’t, but Dorian was her best friend. She would put an arrow to the face of anyone who hurt him, and even offered to do that with his father; it was a shame he refused, she would have liked to attack a proper evil Magister. So when it became clear that whatever was happening between Dorian and The Bull was serious, she made sure to call The Bull aside, and let him know there was a jar of wasps with his name on it if he ever hurt Dorian.

 

Blackwall

Blackwall couldn’t understand, at first. Dorian was a peacock, too arrogant, too confident in his magic, doing things for show even if also efficiently. He didn’t believe Dorian could have genuine feelings, at least not for someone like The Bull. Then he saw The Bull fall in a battle, and how fierce and protective that made Dorian, vaporizing everyone in his path to get to The Bull, staying by his side for the remainder of the battle, making sure no further harm was done to him. That was when he realized, Dorian cared more than he would like to admit.

 

Cole

Cole wanted to help with the hurt, but he knew that wasn’t always possible. He still tried, but he feared that sometimes all he managed to do was to make the hurt worse. The Bull asked him to stop entering his mind, Dorian seemed to only get sadder whenever Cole said something about his past. He didn’t know how to help them, but he could see that they were helping each other. They didn’t talk about their worries, most of the time, but just being together had the power to help, made the pain duller, eventually made it go away.

 

Josephine

Josephine looked at The Bull’s requisition for another bed. She was sure, even without looking at the Inquisition’s records, that it was the third time he had made such request, and that every time, he asked for a finer mattress than the one he originally had. She also noticed that he had requested for his ceiling to be fixed, and for new curtains. If Dorian’s influence continued, the Inquisition coffers would suffer. At least they had moved much of Dorian’s furniture, instead of requisitioning more. She approved the request, adding the note, _next one will be deducted from your fee_.

 

Cullen

Cullen could see that Dorian was happier, and it wasn’t hard to figure out why. Piece by piece, he let go of the mask he wore as an armor and allowed himself to be truer around them. It was good to see he made other friends and their chess games were no longer the only event in his social calendar. He especially liked how Dorian no longer felt the need to hide his feelings for Bull. As unlikely as their relationship may seem, so was his friendship with Dorian. Dorian had a talent for making many different people like him.

 

Leliana

Leliana couldn’t help noticing that Bull was spending more time in the library, and his interest had nothing to do with books. Since whatever they had going on started, she hadn’t seen Dorian sleeping on his chair a single time, and he seemed to be skipping less meals, not sacrificing his health in the name of research as much as he used too. He still dedicated too much of his time to it, but at least now she didn’t have to worry he would fall ill because of it. Bull took too much care of him for this to happen.

 

Krem

Krem didn’t think it would work. He had seen their relationship survive much, but the trial of so much distance over so much time seemed like too big a challenge. They couldn’t get near the Tevinter border often, and even when they did, Dorian could never escape his duties for long. It was a less than ideal situation, and exposed all parties to great risk. But as the years passed, and his chief’s silly smile after his daily talk to Dorian never dimmed, he realized that, if the end of the world couldn’t get in their way, nothing else could.


End file.
